Pictaresque Incantatem
by Sutoomu
Summary: Pulled back in time by the ancestor of their old foe, will the gundam boys be able to defeat another enemy? One with magic? Will they even be able to survive Hogwart's? Well, they have a few new allies...
1. Chapter 1

Another fic! But this one is a Gundam Wing X Harry Potter crossover. This should be interesting, the GW boys with magic. Hawk has been oh so kindly helping me out with this one, so it should come out pretty fast. Great beta, Hawk is! WOOT! Anyways, read this, and enjoy this, and review on this, and here is the disclaimer.

Disclaimer: I, Sutoomu(Storm), do NOT own Gundam Wing in any way. None at all. This fanfiction was made purely for fun and does not get me money in any way. Besides, it's not as though I have any money to be sued for...

Yes, well that is that, now read,please!

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Pictaresque Incantatem

Storm

"Duo, lunch is...ah!" Quatre ducked as an old box full of rags spilling out flew by right where his head had just been. He looked over at Duo, who was rummaging in a mound of boxes and old junk. "What on earth are you...," he dodged an old shoe. "...doing? It's called 'cleaning out the attic', not 'rearrange the junk'."

"Hm," Duo only know seemed to notice someone had spoken to him. He twisted as best he could with half his body hidden under junk to see Quatre. "Oh. Hey, Q!"

"Duo, what are you doing?" Quatre repeated, sighing. "Everyone's downstairs waiting for you. Lunch was ready ten minutes ago."

"Really? Hm," Duo shrugged to himself, then went back to pulling away boxes and throwing things haphazardly about the room, more than half of which flew straight at his blonde friend.

Look, Duo," Quatre spoke as he tried to get closer to Duo amidst the flying debree, wondering what had interested Duo so much that he was too busy for lunch and food. "It was really nice of you to offer to help Trowa and I clean out the attic..."

"Attic? Hah!" Duo laughed. "Your attic's more like a house in itself. Guess that's what happens when you live in a mansion. Everything gets larger." And he suddenly dived under the pile of boxes and broken pieces of chairs and such, his head dissapearing from sight.

"Uh, yeah," Quatre said. "And thanks for dragging Heero with you and persuading Wufei to help but...,"a large old beach ball, somehow inflated, made its way into Quatre's arms. "...I'd rather you actually help clean it out. You could at least organize it as you rummage. And lunch is..."

"Yes!" Duo suddenly yelled from somewhere down there, his voice muffled. He wriggled out into the air, his braid askew and clothes rumpled, holding up something triumphantly. It was an old chest, a small one, made of a deep rich red wood. It was carved with miniature designs along the rims and borders, and all in all, it had a very ancient feel about it. "I finally wedged it out. A half hour's worth of work and I finally get to see what's inside." Duo rubbed his hands together in excitement. "C'mon, Quat," Duo said, standing and making his way over to Quatre, who had only managed to make a foot of progress from the attic stairs. "You can open it with me. What wonders doth this old box hold?"

"It's probably a memory chest from my great great grandfather or something," Quatre said. "Duo, please. The guys are all waiting, and they're all hungry."

Duo ignored Quatre and slowly lifted the lid of the chest. It creaked a little in protest, jamming once, but he got it open easily and they peered in, Quatre's immediate curiousity overriding his lunch alarm. Duo clicked his tongue in dissapointment as they saw it was nearly empty. The only item in it was a single piece of thick paper, blank. Duo reached in and picked it up, flipping it over to the side with something on it.

"It's an old photograph," Quatre said, taking it from Duo to look at. "This must be pretty old then, since no one uses photos this thick anymore." Quatre gestured at the weight of the picture, which seemed to be plastic-like.

"Wonder where that is?" Duo mused, pointing at the picture. It was a lovely distance scene of a gigantic castle, the moon illuminating it from behind and clouds shading the moon's rays. The lights were all on int he castle, it appeared, and the castle itself was made of winding turrets, tall towers, and large stone buildings. The grounds about were rich and green, and seemed to be very, very large. A mighty willow tree stood of to the side, and a small hut near the other side, and a lake and a deep forest was visible as well.

"Looks medieval," Quatre said. "This might be older than I think."

"Nah, it was probably just ancient already when the picture was taken," Duo said. His eyes narrowed as he noticed something. "Quat, what's that?" Duo pointed at the bottom of the photo, where two words were written thickly in ink, with a tight, neat handwriting.

Quatre looked closer and read off the two words. "Pictaresque Incantatus."

"Pictaresque Incantatus? What the hell is that?" Duo chuckled, taking the picture and looking at the words himself. His eyes suddenly went up to the moon in the picture. "Uh, Quat?"

"Yeah?"

"Do moons generally move in pictures?"

"No, why?"

"This one is," Duo said, and pointed it out to Quatre. Indeed, the moon was slowly inching its way across the sky of the photo.

"Wow," Quatre whistled. "Maybe this is some sort of advanced computer..." He turned it over, looking for any gadgets.

"There's no way this could be...woah!" Duo grabbed onto Quatre for balance as a sudden roaring wind blew into the attic. It swirled around them, playing at their feet and generally freaking them out. "What the hell is happening?" Duo yelled over the wind at Quatre, who was holding tightly onto a beam. The photograph fell to the floor, the wind not even touching it as it slowly drifted down. The instant it touched the floor, the wind heaved upwards, then began to swirl down in a very tornado-like effect straight into the picture.

"Duo!" Quatre yelled as he lost his hold on the beam. Duo flung a hand out wildly as he held onto Quatre and grabbed a very heavy box. He pulled, trying to keep Quatre away from the tornado wind. Both their minds were going crazy right now. It wasn't every day a tornado appeared in your attic and began trying to suck you into a photograph. The sudden thought that this was all very wierd echoed in Duo's mind as he lost his grip and Quatre vanished. Duo hurtled right after him. The wind vanished, and the attic sat in silence once again, everything as it was, except for two missing boys.

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That is the introduction to my whole general story. Now read on and please enjoy the rest. And please do not forget to review.


	2. Chapter 2

Yes, it is the second chapter, indeed! Brilliant, isn't it? Anyways, what say you have a look see and tell me what'cha think? Eh?

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Now, it is quite ironic that Quatre and Duo whirled through the photograph's vortex and then were suddenly dropped onto a hard stone floor. Two normal people would probably lie there moaning in pain at falling on their rears or blinking in startled stupidity at what just happened. Quatre and Duo, however, were not anywhere near normal. They were in a whole other universe, one completely opposite to normal. Their battle instincts kicked in and they rolled when they hit the ground, Duo coming up with a gun on hand and Quatre with throwing knives in each hand. It is also quite ironic that the moment when they fell out of the vortex into the intersection of Hogwart's two main halls was the very same moment classes ended. A bell split the air with it's ring, and Duo and Quatre crouched, tensing, thinking automatically it was an alarm and they were intruders. A split second later students in their house robes began to file out, four groups of different colors. Each group halted in shock as they saw Duo and Quatre standing inbetween them all, with a gun and knives. They stared at each other, Quatre and Duo very confused as to the students robes and pointy hats.

Suddenly, a girl screamed and everyone was shaken out of their stupor. A number of the students drew out their wands, which just looked like sticks to the two gundam pilots. Someone stepped forward into the circle suddenly and shouted some words.

"Petrificus Totalus!"

Green sparks shot out of his wand straight at Duo. Duo shocked all the students by managing to dodge and the curse hit a student behind him, who went as rigid as a board and then slowly teetered over, stiff as ice. Duo, meanwhile, seeing the student that had shot something at him as an enemy, easily flipped over to the stunned student and knocked him out. This seemed to prove the students thoughts that these two boys were a danger, sincehalf of them turned tail and bolted off for teachers or safety, while some shuffled back uneasily and a few brave souls stepped forward again.

"Who are you?" Duo's eyes glanced over at the boy who had spoken. He was a gangly boy with messy black hair and startling green eyes behind round glasses. His hair wasn't as messy as Heero's hair was, in Duo's opinion, nor were his eyes as startling as Quatre said Trowa's eyes were. But the lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead was something Duo had never seen before.

"Look, no offense," Duo grinned crookedly, his eyes dark. "But, though you may outnumber us, we appear to be the ones with the gun and knives, and we're not afraid to use them. So, if you basically want to live, just direct us to the exit, please."

"We could knock you off your feet!" Duo's eyes snapped to a greasy blonde haired boy with a sneer on his face. Duo instantly thought 'greasy snake, stay away'.

"What, with your sticks?" Duo laughed. "What's a few little sparks gonna do to us?"

"Uh, Duo...," Quatre tried to get his friend's attention. Duo hadn't seen the student go stiff and fall, unable to speak or move, but Quatre had, and he thought now wasn't a good idea for Duo's taunting.

The students looked at him, then a red haired, freckle faced boy gasped. "They're muggles!"

"Muggles?" Duo blinked. "That's a wierd name. Got any better insults?"

"I'll go get Dumbledore!" A curly, brown haired girl standing beside the freckle faced boy turned and darted off, shouting.

"Where the hell is this?" Duo asked. "These are the wierdest soldiers I've ever seen..."

"We're not soldiers," the boy with the scar corrected. "We're students."

"This is a school?" Quatre said, appearing startled.

"But you're dressed so wierd!" Duo exclaimed. He suddenly smiled. "Bet'cha this is a catholic school or something."

"You're standing in the main hall of Hogwart's School for Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Duo gaped and Quatre swallowed nervously. "You gotta be kidding me!" Duo exclaimed. He suddenly raised the gun and aimed it at the boy's head. "Get out of the way. I want to go home!"

"Stupefy!"

"Duo, look out!" Quatre yelled, ramming into Duo, knocking him out of the way of a red beam of light shooting out of a student's wand. It hit Quatre in the back, blasting him and Duo to the ground.

"Quat? Quat!" Duo yelled in concern, turning Quatre over. He felt a load rise off his chest as he saw Quatre still breathed, then a hot flash of anger entered his chest. He looked up, eyes dark and blazing with anger. "What the hell did you do to him!" he yelled at the student, his fingers clenching around his gun.

"Avis!" a round faced student suddenly yelled. Duo blinked as a flock of small birds emerged from the end of the wand and fluttered towards him. He ducked and waved them away, then shot two of them down with his gun as the rest wheeled and seemed to attack him, beating them with his wings.

"Incarcerous!" the boy with the scar shouted, and Duo felt something hit his arm, then felt rope winding around his arms and legs. He collapsed in a heap, tied firmly, glowering. The birds vanished, flying off out a high window.

"What the...?" Duo struggled against his bonds. "Let me out! What the hell...who the hell are you!" He yelled at the boy who had cast the spell.

"My name's Harry Potter," the boy said, walking up to the twisting Duo. "How did you get in here?"

"How the hell do I know? One second, I was just cleaning out Q's attic, and the next second I'm here! Witches and Wizards!" Duo began to laugh.

"Please elaborate, if it pleases you." Duo looked up as the crowd hushed and parted to make way for an old man. He had white silvery hair that was long enough to tuck into his belt, which it was, surprisingly, and was dressed in majestic robe of scarlet and navy blue.

"Wow," Duo muttered, blinking up at the man.

"See, Professor Dumbledore?" the girl was back beside the old man. "He's a muggle!"

"I highly doubt that, Miss Granger," Dumbledore smiled at Duo, his wise eyes sparkling behind his half moon spectacles. "No muggle can see or enter Hogwart's, you understand. Now, young sir. Please elaborate how you got here?"

Duo normally wasn't one to tell any enemy anything, but something inside him was urging him to explain, to trust Dumbledore. "First of all, my name is Duo Maxwell, not young sir. Second of all, this is how the story goes. I was cleaning out the attic, and I found a box. And in it, there was this wierd picture of this big, odd looking castle and some words on the bottom...pictaresque incantatus or something like that. Anyways, suddenly, this big tornado comes and sucks us into the picture and then I drop here, where someone hurt my best friend and they will pay if he isn't okay! And get these damn ropes off me!"

With a flick of his wand, the ropes fell away from Duo, though now he still couldn't move mroe than a few inches. A second later, Quatre woke up and sat up, blinking sleepily. His eyes widened at the sight of Dumbledore. "Pictaresque Incantatus...," Dumbledore murmured. He stood up. "Students! Continue on to your classes. You do not want to keep your teachers waiting." After some more shooing from Dumbledore and the other apparent teacher, the students departed off to classes...whatever they learned was a complete mystery to Duo and Quatre.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Duo Maxwell," Dumbledore said when all the students had left. "I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts. This is a professor at Hogwarts," he gestured to the two standing beside him. "McGonagall, Professor of Transfiguration," a strict looking woman with her hair in a tight bun peered down at them from behind her spectacles. "May I ask who this young man is?" Dumbledore asked, gesturing to Quatre.

"I'm Quatre Raberba Winner," Quatre immediately spoke. He would have shaken Dumbledore's hand could he have moved. "Pleasure to meet you as well, even if I can't seem to think straight right now."

"The stupefy curse was used on you," McGonagall spoke. "It makes the target unconscious. A bit of lightheadedness and confusion is expected."

"Stupefy curse?" Quatre blinked, shaking his head. "I knew I wasn't seeing things!"

"How the hell did we get here?" Duo asked. "And where exactly is here?"

"Pictaresque Incantatus is a very powerful spell. It transports whoever speaks it to the very place in the picture in the time it was taken. Therefore, the castle in the picture was Hogwarts, and the picture was taken in this year," Dumbledore explained. "Where were you before you came here?"

"We were on earth," Quatre explained.

"Yes. Normally, me an' Hee-chan would be on one of the colonies, and 'Fei would be out and about on his job, but we all came back to earth to help Quat and Tro clean out their attic," Duo said. Something suddenly occured to him, since his eyes went wide. "Heero's gonna kill me! When he and Tro can't find us..."

"Oh no," Quatre whispered, closing his eyes. "They'll tear everything apart looking for us. We have to go back." He looked up uncertainly at Dumbledore. "We can go back, can't we?"

"There is a reverse spell for Pictaresque Incantatus. However, it can only be performed on one day of the year, and that day is not for the next seven months."

"Seven months?" Duo yelled, then groaned. "No!" A sudden thought came to him, and he giggled. "I swear, Quat. This has got to be the wildest dream I've ever had. I mean, I've never made something this complex up before. This is wild! I always had wierd dreams, but this is the wierdest. And you're acting just like normal."

"Duo, if this is a dream, then we're having the same one, because I'm as real as I ever have been," Quatre gulped. "This is all real, it is."

"But...," Duo blinked, then scowled angrily. "No, it's not real. I'm going to scream and wake up and Hee-chan will be there. And then he'll give me hot chocolate and tell me it's all alright and we'll stay up all night watching TV."

"Duo," Quatre consoled. "This is real. And Heero and Trowa are stuck at home. And we're stuck here for seven months!" Quatre's face fell.

"Real. It's real?" Duo seemed to ask no one. "Now what're we supposed to do for the next seven months?"

"Why, you'll become students at Hogwart's, of course. We can't have untrained wizards roaming about in the future," Dumbledore replied. "Which, I believe, is where you are from."

"We went back in time? Cool! This really real dream keeps getting better."

"It's real, Duo," Quatre sighed. "And what do you mean, 'untrained wizards'. We're not magic."

"Ah, but you are," Dumbledore smiled, one of those smiles that totally shouted 'I know something you don't' but not in the smug way Duo's smiles shouted. This smile was wise. "You see, no muggle on earth or in the future could ever be able to activate that spell. No muggle would be able to see Hogwarts in the picture or now. To them, it would appear they are in a large abandoned field. And no muggle would be able to enter Hogwart's. Now, you two did all three of those things. So, therefore, that makes you wizards. And quite strong ones, I must think."

"So we're wizards," Duo stated. "And we're at a school for wizards, and we're going to learn to be wizards here for seven months until we go home and Heero and Trowa and Wufei kill us for being gone for seven months without a trace. If this is reality, it's getting interesting."

"Now that that matter has been dealt with," McGonagall spoke up. "I must ask why two young boys possess a gun and knives?"

"We...kind of have dangerous lives," Quatre explained. "That's all we can say."

"Weapons of any kind are not allowed in Hogwarts."

"Right," Duo tried to stand up, then remembered he was pretty much frozen. "Um...can I stand up?"

"Please do," Dumbledore said, and Duo found he could move, just as Quatre could. they stood up together.

Duo scratched his nose. "Been waiting to do that for five minutes. That's the worst thing when you're tied up. Every time your nose itches. So what do we do now?"

"Now, we proceed to my office to make plans for your school supplies and wands," McGonagall said curtly. "Follow me."

"Ah, yes," Dumbledore said, a reminiscing look coming into his eyes. "I remember when I first went to Ollivander's to get my wand..." And he walked the opposite direction as McGonagall led the two boys down the halls.

"Sorry, Hee-chan," Duo whispered.

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Ta dah. My intro endo parts won't be that long. I'm in a hurry to post these. I want to go to bed, since it's, like, 1 30 in the morning! YAWN. Please REVIEW and READ ON!


	3. Chapter 3

Two gundam pilots missing? Reaction? Get sucked in yourself, lol. Read on and you shall see, my precious...sorry, I'm goin' a li'l Lord of the Rings there. Oh, and I don't own that either. No suing me, please! But do so review!

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"Quatre? Quatre!" Trowa called, stepping out onto the attic floor.

"Where are they?" Heero's head appeared as he walked up and joined the taller boy.

"I don't know," Trowa replied.

"Duo was here. This is as messy as his half of the room," Heero observed.

Trowa stepped deeper into the room, wondering if maybe they were buried beneath some boxes or hiding. He noticed immediately there was one area in the center of the attic that had no boxes or junk anywhere near it, unlike the rest of the room. He stepped over a box and into the clear area, then noticed one single piece of paper resting in the very center. "Heero." Heero looked over and joined Trowa, both looking at the photograph Trowa had picked up. It was of a large castle, basically, and looked rather old.

"Pictaresque Incantatus."

"What?" Heero asked as Trowa spoke.

"The words on the bottom," Trowa explained. "Look." He handed the picture to Heero, who picked out the thick, handwritten words. "Pictaresque Incantatus. Hn."

"It's latin," Trowa said. "Picture Incantation."

"We need to find Duo and Quatre," Heero stated, turning back towards the stairs. He was stopped as an incredibly strong wind suddenly blew against him. In a second, Heero's mind realized this was not normal and he crouched to make himself smaller. The wind continued to blow, whipping the paper out of Trowa's hands. It floated to the floor, unnaffected by the wind. The moment it touched the wooden floor, the wind heaved and began to swirl down into the picture like a tornado. In a moment, Quatre and Duo's fate was shared as Trowa and Heero dissapeared into the picture.

If seeing two supposed muggles in the hall with a gun and a knife was startling to the students, having two more fall out of the sky in the middle of a potions lesson for Gryffindor fifth years was completely unsettling. Heero fell straight on Snape's desk, knocking everything off as he rolled off to his feet, a gun in his hand aimed at Snape's hooked nose. Trowa landed on the side of a cauldron, knocking it and its contents all over the floor. Shoes and robe hems began to sizzle and vanish as the potion touched them, and people quickly jumped up onto higher ground as it oozed. Trowa rolled to his feet, saw the potion was burning his shoes, and flipped backwards up onto a desk, a gun in his hand as well, aimed at the flustered students. Both their eyes quickly scanned the group for threats, seeing only students in robes and large cauldrons.

"What just happened?" Heero asked, a spark of anger in his voice. This was not normal, could not be explained by science or technology. First, his Duo is missing, and now, he was dragged through a picture to some dungeon room filled with wierd students and cauldrons. It reminded him of this one movie he and Duo had watched about witches. Similar cauldrons.

"Two more?" Heero and Trowa's gazes snapped to the boy who had spoken. He was a freckle faced, red haired boy.

"More?" Trowa repeated, leveling the gun at the boy, who stepped back and swallowed. "What do you mean?"

"I-I...I...," the boy stuttered.

A curly brown haired girl stepped in front of him, shutting him up. "He means that a half hour ago, two other boys with a gun and knife appeared in the hallway."

"Two others...?" Heero whispered. "Duo and Quatre!"

"Duo? Yeah, that was the wierd one's name," the freckle faced boy piped up. "He had the longest hair I've ever seen on a guy before. Really bloody long!"

"That's Duo," Heero stated, then looked for the door, his gun still trained on Snape.

Snape whipped his wand up to point at Heero and shouted. "Expelliarmus!"

Heero reacted and pressed the trigger of his gun, only to have it fly out of his hand by some unseen force and clatter against the wall, the bullet flying and ricocheting once before embedding itself inside the cauldron, where it melted into nothing. Trowa's gun shifted over to Snape the instant he spoke, his mind stating him as the enemy. The same word Snape had spoken was said by a student, and Trowa's gun flew out of his hand as well, joining Heero's on the floor. Trowa tensed himself to fight, Heero heading for Snape. When Heero was only about an inch away from Snape, he shouted some more words.

"Stupefy!" Heero was hit hard in the chest with a red beam of light. His eyes rolled up into his head and he collapsed to the floor, lying there. Trowa, deciding quickly that the enemy was more powerful, lifted his hands, looking at Heero.

"I surrender."

"Surrender...," Snape sneered. "Finnigan, go get Headmaster Dumbledore now." Snape pointed at the door and a student set off running. Trowa stepped down off the desk at Snape's gesture, his hands on his head, and stood staring calmly at Snape.

"Who are you, boy?" Snape asked.

Trowa answered with another question. "Where is Quatre?"

Snape smiled snakily and turned. He waved his wand and the items which had fallen off his desk began flitting back up. A slight parting of Trowa's lip was the only sign he was amazed. A moment later, an old wizened man came in, followed by the student that had run off. The man, who Trowa assumed was headmaster Dumbledore, turned his wise eyes onto Trowa, and he smiled as if in amusement.

"Ah," Dumbledore said. "The others."

"Others?" a boy with black hair, messy like Heero's, spoke. "What do you mean?"

"Hm?" Dumbledore looked at the boy. "Oh. These two are the friends of Quatre and Duo."

"Are they alright?" Trowa turned, his hands still on his head.

"Your friends are fine, if a bit surprised. Come. I shall take you to them," he turned to Snape. "Revive the other please." Dumbledore glanced back at Trowa, and smiled. "You may put your hands down. We are not at war, nor are we are your enemy. Now, which one are you? Trowa or Heero?" Trowa simply stared at him, then his eyes slipped to meet Heero's, who was shaking his head in confusion. "I hope you don't mind if we keep your friend a bit confused. I am under the impression he is very dangerous. Please follow me."

Trowa followed Dumbledore, directing Heero at one moment when he ran into a cauldron. They were led down halls and up an apparently moving stairway, into an obvious office. Three heads looked up when they entered, and two pairs of eyes widened.

"Hee-chan!" Duo yelled, bolting from his chair straight into Heero's arms. Heero looked at him oddly, as if unsure whether he should know Duo or not. Duo noticed.

"What'd you do to him?" he asked, a bit angered.

"Just a simple confusion spell," Dumbledore replied. "I believe Heero is to be very dangerous. I shall lift it."

Heero's eyes shut tightly suddenly and he grit his teeth, then gasped and blinked. He saw Duo in front of him, and reached forward, pulling the braided boy into a hug. "Duo. Are you okay?"

"I don't know...," Duo said. "I keep thinking this is one of my dreams, but Quat says it's real. I don't know anymore."

"Trowa," Quatre spoke from his chair.

"Quatre," Trowa stepped up to him, rubbing a hand lovingly through Quatre's hair. "Are you alright? They didn't hurt you?"

"I'm fine Did you read the words on the bottom of the picture, too?" Quatre replied. "You'll never believe what you being here means, Trowa."

"Oh, yeah!" Duo grinned. "Guess what, 'Ro? We're all wizards!"

"We're what?"

"Heero! Trowa!" Wufei stepped into the attic. "Where are they?" he muttered. "Quatre? Duo, you braided baka!" Wufei sighed in frustration. "You look away for a second and they're all gone off together. And I gave up a week of work for this." Something caught his eye and he walked over, picking it up. "An old photograph...?" It was both a question and a statement. The photo was of an enormous and ancient castle, wth turrets and towers and the moon in the background. There were two words handwritten in thick ink at the bottom. "Pic...pictaresque Incantatus..." Wufei read the words. The first word was somewhat smudged now. "What the...? What is this?" he asked.

Wufei let the picture fall out of his hands as he turned to leave and find the others. Suddenly, a wind entered the attic and swirled at his feet. The picture, already having been on its way, fell to the floor. Wufei let a string of chinese curses fly from his mouth as thw wind surged and began to spiral into the picture. A split second later, Wufei spiraled...and vanished.

"We're wizards," Heero stated, though he still could barely believe it. He looked over at Duo. "Maybe this is one of your dreams..."

"We will be going to Diagon Alley to get all your things now," McGonagall said. "Hagrid, the gamekeeper of Hogwart's, will arrive soon to take you. Here is a list of items fifth years require." She handed them each a sheet of paper. "Since you are all fifteen, or so I am told," she leveled a sharp glance at Trowa, who simply stared back with his stoic eyes. "You will be in the fifth year. Dumbledore says you will catch up soon enough, though I believe you will be somewhat behind everyone else. Tommorrow morning, you will be sorted into your houses."

"Houses?" Quatre questioned.

"In Hogwart's, there are four houses. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin."

"You magic people have wierd names," Duo commented.

McGonagall set her sharp eyes upon him before continuing. "You will be put in one of those houses. The other members of your house will be like your family for the duration of the stay."

"But...Professor McGonagall," Quatre said, smiling. "I'm already with my family." He gestured to his friends. His face fell suddenly. "Except Wufei isn't here..."

"Let me go!"

"Heh," Duo laughed. "I'm hallucinating. I swear I just heard 'Fei's voice."

"Let me go, you big oaf!"

"You did!" Quatre exclaimed, heading for the door.

"Now you listen 'ere, an' you listen good!" a deep, rumbling voice spoke. "I don' know who ya are, er why you're here, but I kin tell ya this much. Guns an' knivesare banned from 'ogwart's." There was a shinking sound.

"Give me back Nataku! Baka!" the four rushed out into the hall in time to see Wufei reaching for his sword, which was held in the hand of an enormous man. He was twice the height of an average man, and five times as wide. His small black eyes were hidden in a tangle of hair, and he wore a coat with numerous pockets. The giant's other hand was holding Wufei up by his collar.

"Stop strugglin'," the big man said.

"Put me down!" Wufei yelled, along with a dozen chinese, japanese, arabic, and latin curses. "Damnit, put me down!"

"'Fei!" Duo shouted, and Wufei stilled, looking over.

"Maxwell, you baka onna! I should have known you were involved!" Wufei growled.

"Hagrid, put him down," McGonagall said.

"But, Professor," Hagrid argued. "He 'ad this," he held up a now unrecognizable lump of metal. It must have been Wufei's gun. "An' this!" He held up Nataku, Wufei's treasured sword, out of its sheath.

"Please put him down, Hagrid," McGonagall repeated. Hagrid grumbled in slight protest, then set Wufei down hard on the floor, keeping a hand on his collar in case. "Hagrid, these are the students you need to take to Diagon Alley," she gestured. "This is Heero, Duo, Trowa, and Quatre, the four new students at Hogwart's. And Wufei, I believe, is the fifth Dumbledore mentioned."

"He knew Wufei would come, too?" Duo asked, then chuckled. "Can't get anything past him."

"Students at Hogwart's? What the hell?" Wufei asked.

"Professor, I suggest you let us explain it to him," Duo interrupted McGonagall before she could speak. "It would end up really bad if you knew what an onna was. C'mon, 'Fei." Duo walked up to Wufei and turned him about, then looked up at the big man. 'Lead the way, Hagrid."

Hagrid grumbled about violent students for a second, then began walking down the hall, the five boys following.

"My name is Wufei, Maxwell!"

"And my name is Duo, Changles," Duo replied. Their banter went on, consisting of arguing and explaining and swearing and shouting.

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Yay, this chappie is up. And the next is gonna be dedicated. Hmm...Review, then read on. 


	4. Chapter 4

THIS CHAPTER IS DEDICATED TO HAWK, BEST BETA IN THE WORLD WOOT!

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"Yeah, we're going for wands!" Duo yelled. "Finally!"

The group had arrived at Diagon Alley three hours ago, and had just completed shopping for their books, robes, and supplies. They would have been done an hour and a half ago, had Duo not insisted upon looking at every single stall open, and insisting upon them each getting a broomstick and a pet. Hagrid agreed after a bit of wheedling, and five Silver Storm's were now on their way to Hogwart's. A white kitten sat on Heero's shoulder, named Hane. Duo had gotten a black drake, a miniature dragon, called Shinigami, of course. Trowa had a black and white ferret on his shoulders, called Han'i, and Quatre had a golden brown mouse in his hand, named Cimmeron. Wufei's pet was an owl, about the size of a baseball when it tucked its head in, and a complete fluffy white, called Wynter. None of them had bothered to get a pet which would actually be capable of completing the purpose of delivering messages, since none of them really knew anyone to send messages to in this time. Now, they were on their way through the door of Ollivander's.

"Whoo, cool!" Duo exclaimed.

"Ah ah ah," an odd man came out from behind a row of long, thin boxes. "The unexpected...the five latecomers...come, come. Wands...wands..." the man looked at Duo up and down, then began flying through the rows and rows of boxes, pulling one out, then muttering and pushing it back. He finally took one box and smiled, opening it and handing a wand to Duo. "Unicorn hair, fourteen inches, rather whippy."

"Uh, what do I do?" Duo asked, holding it.

"Oh, just give it a little wave," Mr. Ollivander explained.

Duo lifted it and brought it down, brandishing it like a sword playfully. He jumped when the entire wand seemed to split and explode in his hand. "Holy shit!" Duo blinked. "Is it supposed to do that?"

"Oh my...," Mr. Ollivander muttered. "Oh my, oh my...oh dear...oh dearie, dearie, dear..."

"What is it?" Hagrid asked.

"You, my dear boy, have the inner wand!" Ollivander cried. "Brilliant! Oh my. There hasn't been an inner wand wizard or witch for a thousand years!"

"Inner wand?" Hagrid rumbled. "What's that?"

"Yeah, what's that?" Duo repeated.

"Inner wand. It is an extremely rare talent. I, myself, am priveleged to meet an inner wand wizard! An inner wand wizard is a wizard who possesses the power of a wand in his hand. In other words, you, Duo Maxwell, have no need for a wand," Ollivander grabbed Duo's hand. "It's all in here, my boy."

"How'd you know my name?" Duo asked, suspicious.

"I know everyone's name," Ollivander's eyes glittered mysteriously. They snapped over to Trowa, and he smiled. "And you, Trowa Barton!" Ollivander grabbed an armful of boxes randomly and rushed over. He handed one to Trowa. "Wave it, please." Trowa proceeded to do so, and his wand engulfed in fire, burning. Ollivander laughed. "Another inner wand wizard! My stars! Here," he looked at the other three, handing them each a wand. Heero's shot out of his hand like a gun, impoding against the wall. Wufei's split down the center, peeling back and warping, and Quatre's began to set off a high pitched whistling until it popped like a firework. Ollivander was ecstatic.

"So they're all...?" Hagrid bumbled.

"Yes! Yes, my dear Hagrid! Five inner wand wizards! Oh my stars and sweet heavens!" Ollivander looked so excited, like he would faint the next second.

"So none of us need wands?" Quatre asked. "We can just...just use our hands?"

"Yes. Ingenious talent! Brilliant!" Ollivander cried.

"That's kind of highly unlikely," Quatre said, skeptical about the whole inner wand idea. "Nothing has ever happened with our hands and magic before."

"Yeah," Duo agreed. "We ain't been shooting off sparks or nothing like those wands do."

"Did you ever try?" Ollivander asked. "Did you ever think you could perform magic? No? Well, now you do, and now you shall! Bravo!" Ollivander dissapeared amidst the shelves. When he didn't reappear after ten minutes, Hagrid led them out, still flustered about the news.

"Well, can't say I don' agree with savin' a bit o' money for Hogwart's," Hagrid spoke. "But this beats all. Inner wand wizards from the future. Bloody fascinatin'! Dumbledore'll love this."

Duo was looking in fascination at his hands. "How are we supposed to learn magic now? If there ain't been inner wand wizards for a thousand years, who's gonna teach us?"

"Ah, I'll leave that one ta Dumbledore to figure out," Hagrid said, clearing his throat. "Anyways, off home we go now."

"Hagrid. Do you have any clue how an inner wand works? I think...I think I just have to think I can do magic or something. At least, that's what I got out of what the wand man said."

"Now don' you be tryin' anythin'," Hagrid warned Duo, wagging a finger. "The only place underaged wizards are allowed ta do magic is at Hogwart's. You try an' do magic out here, an' you'll have the Ministry o' Magic on your tails."n

"Ministry of Magic?" Wufei asked.

"A bunch o' wizards an' witches that make sure muggles-them's non magic folk-don' find out about us magical folks."

"Ah," Wufei nodded. "It's like the government of the magic world."

"I suppose...," Hagrid said.

"So the only place we can ever do magic is at the school?" Quatre asked.

"An' then only when you're in classes."

"No magic outside of classes and no weapons," Duo pouted. "That sucks. Now I'm gonna have to deal with a twitchy Heero."

Heero, who hadn't spoken since he found out he was a wizard, now cuffed Duo's head. "Baka." Thai'kia swatted adorably at Duo's braid as he swung round, protesting. Heero did look somewhat agitated, though.

"I still can't believe you got that kitten, Yuy," Wufei scoffed.

"Hn."

"Say one word about my Hee-chan's kitten, and you're goin' down," Duo threatened with a grin. "Shini will bite you." The black drake on Duo's shoulder flared it's small wings and hissed, snapping. Wynter's small black eyes went wide and her head tucked in, making her seem only a white ball of fluffiness.

"Funny 'ow quick a connection is made 'tween masters an' pets," Hagrid commented, then ordered. "No fightin' 'tween the animals. Or 'tween you guys." He added as an afterthought.

Duo's eyes glinted at the thought, and he grinned. "Right. No fighting 'Fei 'Fei."

"My name is Wufei, Maxwell!"

"They called a special breakfast meeting for us to be sorted," Quatre said. The five stood, in full Hogwart's robed clothes, in a small room adjacent to the main hall. They were waiting for McGonagall to come and bring them to be sorted. The only time the students had really seen them was when they had popped into Hogwart's. They had been kept under wrap since then, and now were to be revealed. "Apparently, it happens in front of the whole school."

"An audience," Duo smiled. "Neat. I wonder how this sorting hat thing works."

"We'll find out soon enough," Wufei replied. "Here comes McGonagall."

"When I call your name, go and sit on the stool and put the pointed hat on your head. The hat will shout out which house you are to be in and your house table will cheer. Proceed to the loudest cheering table, and that will be your table." She turned sharply and walked through the curtains, the five gundam boys following her. They stepped onto a stage in front of four long tables, each filled with students cheering and applauding them.

"Barton, Trowa," McGonagall said. Trowa stepped forward, giving Quatre's hand one last hidden squeeze. He sat on the stool and held the hat for a moment, observing it, then placing it on his head. He had to tilt it back a little so his bangs didn't press flat against his face.

_Hm, a latecomer student to Hogwart's, and an inner wand wizard as well. Oh my..._

Trowa's eyes widened slightly when he heard the voice, his shoulders stiffening, then relaxing in curiousity as he realized it was the hat that was speaking in his mind. He quickly assessed that since this was the wizard world, he couldn't be considered crazy for listening to it.

_Yes, I see quite a bit of wisdom in you, quite a bit...but your courage is in good supply as well. And I sense such great loyalty. You have incredible loyalty to all your friends, loyalty and a hand to help...I guess you'll have to go to..._

'GRYFFINDOR!' the hat yelled, and Trowa took the hat off and stood up. He hopped off the stage and made his way over to the exploding table. He sat down, trying to ignore all the pats on the back and congrats he recieved. He wasn't much for attention.

'Chang, Wufei," McGonagall spoke as soon as the noise had died down. Wufei walked up to the stool, set the hat on his head, and sat down, arms crossed.

_You have a great sense of justice and honor, that is obvious._

Wufei nearly sighed with relief. Finally, someone who said that and didn't mean it as a joke or part of a joke. Duo could really push his buttons sometimes. He had an inkling of what would happen when he put the hat on, stuff he had gathered from what McGonagall had said and how Trowa had reacted. So now he listened.

_You have loyalty to your friends,a great amount of it. But you are incredibly knowledged. You have great learning in you. You are a brilliant scholar, I can see. Would rather sit and read than go out and play._

Wufei thought this was a childish statement.

_You will most definitely be in..._

'RAVENCLAW!'

Wufei stood up and joined the table of clapping ravenclaws. He wondered if he, as a scholar, would have anything in common with them, as scholars. He learned in the future, and they learned now, in the past, and at a wizard school. Totally opposite.

'Maxwell, Duo," McGonagall spoke again. She seemed to clip her words with very good grammar. Duo ran forward and sat down. He grinned and put the hat on his head.

_Aren't you the hyper one?_

Duo jumped and fell backwards off the stool. He lay on the floor for a momentbefore standing up and rushing to Dumbledore at the head table. He took a deep breath, held it for a moment, then exhaled and spoke. "Is it supposed to speak inside my head?"

Dumbledore smiled and nodded, chuckling. Duo gave an okay and went back to the stool. Half the audience was smiling at his response to the sorting hat's speakings.

"Okay, hat, continue," Duo muttered.

_Kind of jittery. You hear voices in your head often?_

_No. I hear a voice in my head. And I don't like that voice. _Duo replied by thought. He had long ago mastered the art of talking inside his head.

_And that would be the dark side of Duo, wouldn't it? That would be Shinigami..._

Duo swallowed and stiffened as the hat's simple word brought Shinigami out into his main thought. He hated, yet needed the damn other side of him. Shinigami was simply the dark side of Duo.

_Well, you have courage and loyalty and determination. You have great ambition, you want to prove yourself to everyone, I see...prove you're not a joking idiot all the time. And what a sharp, devious mind. Very cunning, if you ask me. And then of course, there's the darker side of you...yes, you will have to go into..."_

'SLYTHERIN!'

"Slytherin? Sweet," Duo said as he hopped off the stool, setting the hat back down. The Slytherin table had erupted into wild cheers, but the other tables were relatively quiet. Duo idly wondered why as he jumped down to join the Slytherin table, noting at the same time that most of the Slytherins looked kind of slithery and dark.

"Winner, Quatre Raberba," McGonagall spoke. Quatre walked up to the chair with a friendly smile and sat down, placing the hat on his head, where it nearly fell over his eyes.

_Hello, little one. I see that's your nickname..._

_Only one person calls me little one._ Quatre replied. _And only him. _He, too, was used to speaking to voices in his head, only he spoke to much more than one spirit. Being an empath and a being able to hear spirits and phantoms brought that upon Quatre.

_Yes, your koishii, as you call him. You seem to have an incedibly nice heart, and you seem to be a very good, trustworthy friend. Maybe you're a little too nice...but, then again, you can definitely hold your own in a fight. A sweet, little thing is what you are. You're going into..._

'HUFFLEPUFF!'

Quatre stood off the stool and forced a mostly sincere smile at the Hufflepuff table cheering for him. He let a longing glance go to Trowa for a moment, and received a secret, supportive smile in return, and he sat down at his new house.

"Yuy, Heero."

"Woot, Hee-chan!" Duo yelled from the Slytherin table, and Heero rolled his eyes, but smirked his smile at Duo anyways. Heero sat on the stool and placed the hat on his head, all the while thinking how silly this was and looked and how crazy this whole school was and how idiotic he looked in his robes. Treize and Zechs wore robes, not him.

_My, my, my...I can tell this will be a hard desicion. Loyal to a few, courageous yet uncaring about what happens to yourself. WIlling to give everything up for someone, yet hoping to be able to give it all up. Hmm...where shall I put you? Very intelligent, able to get whatever you want...Slytherin or Gryffindor...? Is there, perhaps, one you would prefer?_

Heero ignored the voice, simply waiting for it to shout something. he didn't understand how a hat could shout. Then again, how could a hat speak in his mind? It was all crazy. And he really didn't care. He just wanted to finish these seven months so he could go home.

_I see. You don't care. Very well. let's consider this...I would have to say you have much more goodness in you than anyone realizes, so I shall put you in..._

'GRYFFINDOR!'

Heero's mind registered the hat had shouted, and he stood up, eyes icy cold and calculating, to go and join Trowa at the Gryffindor table.

"Let the breakfast begin," Dumbledore announced, and everyone burst into talking and eating. Trowa and Heero both looked at their kois sitting at the other tables, speaking to other students, then shared a silent glance between them. Wufei was ignoring a Ravenclaw girl who was asking him how much he knew, and Duo was listening to the basic one-and-all about the school from a Slytherin. Quatre was holding a friendly conversation with a Hufflepuff pair of students, and Trowa and Heero ate the food which had simply appeared on the table plates in silence. Heero wasn't very social, and Trowa liked to think.

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Thank you for reading the chappie dedicated to Hawk, best beta! Now review it, and then read on, if you doth so wish it and it dith so pleaseth you. Heh heh.


	5. Chapter 5

Yay for the fifth chappie. This'll probably be the last one until I write somemore, unless I have enough for another one, which I don't know if I do. Maybe. Whatever. Read. Enjoy. Review.

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"Welcome to Gryffindor!" Trowa and Heero both looked up over the table to the girl with curly brown hair that had been in Snape's room when they appeared.

"It's a pretty good house. Ain't perfect, mind you," the freckled one sat down beside the girl, and the boy with the scar soon after. "But it's a whole lot better than Slytherin."

"What's wrong with Slytherin?" Heero looked concernedly over at Duo, who was eating a large apple.

"Nothing's wrong with it, neccesarily," the girl said.

"Just that they're bloody fools," the freckled boy replied. "Think they're all high and mighty and better than the rest of us. Nasty, slimy, mean Slytherins."

"It's sort of considered to be a dark house," the girl cut in. "Most all the wizards who went to Slytherin became dark wizards. They never associate with us other houses. Anyways, my name is Hermoine Granger, and this is Ron Weasley and Harry Potter. We're fifth years as well, and we'll be in your classes. We'd like to offer to show you around or explain anything."

Heero never noticed her speaking, for he was looking intentedly over at Duo. Duo saw Heero and waved, grinning his famous grin and giving his V-for-victory sign.

"Don't worry about your friend, Heero," Hermoine diverted his attention. "I'm sure he'll be fine."

"Evil Slytherins...," Ron was muttering into his cup as he drank. His eyes went wide suddenly. "I wouldn't be too sure he'll be okay. Malfoy's making his move." The other four turned to look at Duo, who was saying hi to the greasy blondehaired kid from earlier.

"Who is that?" Heero asked.

"That's Draco Malfoy," Harry spoke for the first time. "Slytherin resident and low life scum."

"And Harry's arch enemy. Malfoy hates our guts, and he's always looking for new recruits to join his hate club," Ron added.

"I hope your friend is really loyal to you," Harry said. "If he hangs with Malfoy, he'll be coming after us."

"Duo is strong," Trowa mentioned.

"We hope," Ron muttered. Heero nearly shuddered. He hated the fact that Duo was in a dark house. Shinigami would take advantage of that...Shinigami had probably gotten him put in Slytherin.

"Hiya, Draco," Duo said as the boy sat down. "Neat name."

"Call me Malfoy."

"Sure, but don't call me Maxwell," Duo rolled his eyes. "I get enough of that from Wufei."

"The chinese boy, right?" Malfoy asked, and Duo nodded. "Welcome to Slytherin, Duo. I'm a fifth year as well, as are Crabbe and Goyle, here," Duo looked at the two hefty boys sitting on either side of Malfoy and automatically thought 'henchmen'. "So we'll be in your classes. I'll show you around the school."

"Why's your hair so long?" Crabbe suddenly asked. Malfoy elbowed him, and Duo didn't answer. Nobody needed to know why he had a three foot long braid.

"Our first class is Charms, with that idiot Professor Flitwick," Malfoy sneered. "And those idiotic Gryffindors."

"We got a class with Gryffindor? Sick and twisted!" Duo shouted his expression of coolness.

Malfoy, obviously, took it the wrong way. "Blasted Gryffindors. Think they're better than us."

"They do?"

"Oh, yes," Malfoy scowled. "Especially that Potter. Thinks he's the best, just because he's famous."

"He's famous?"

"They say he defeated the dark Lord Voldemort when he was just a baby, but that's pathetic in my opinion. How could a baby defeat the greatest dark wizard of all time? Pitiful. And that Hermoine Granger. What a teacher's pet! Teacher's pet and a filthy mudblood."

"Mudblood?"

"Her parents are both muggles," Malfoy continued complaining. "They shouldn't let her kind in here. Dirty blood. Only pure blood wizards should be allowed."

"Pure blood?"

"Students with magic parents," Malfoy explained quickly, then went back to his rant. "And the Weasley's, especially Ron. Don't bother associating with him. The Weasley's can barely afford to be in Hogwart's. All second hand junk."

Duo went back to eating as Malfoy continued to rant and complain, noting that Malfoy seemed to be somewhat annoying. But, right now, he was giving Duo some knowledge of Hogwart's, in a way, and he didn't want to pass that up. So he endured and listened, absorbing.

"Do you know the levitation spell?" the girl, whose name had gotten lost in Wufei's mind, asked.

"No, I do not," Wufei said through gritted teeth. Annoying onnas!

"Oh, then you must watch," she said, excited as she pulled out her wand. She pointed at her cup and spoke. "Wingardium Leviosa." The cup began to rise in the air. Wufei really wasn't impressed.

"Why bother putting a spell on it if you can just use your hand?" he asked, lifing his own cup to his mouth and drinking.

The Ravenclaw girl looked stumped. "Because...well, just because...what if sometime you need to...I mean..."

"Exactly what I thought," Wufei finished, putting an end to her words. He had dismissed more than ten students already, all of them trying to impress and show him many spells. Wufei was simply here to endure the seven months. He did not plan to learn wizardry beyond what was required. What true good would wizardry do him in his world? Nothing, unless he went to the dark side. If he used any of his wizard powers in his job, he'd most likely get fired. That is, if he wasn't fired anyways from being absent for seven months.

Something occurred to Wufei. The Preventors, and Hilde, and Relena, and Sally would go crazy when they couldn't find the five of them after their week of vacation was up. They would search the globe, and the colonies, and every resource they could, but how could they find them if they were in the past? Impossible, and what would the five of them say when they returned.

"Hello? Hello, is there anything in there?" a boy was waving his hand in front of Wufei's face. "Why'd they put you in Ravenclaw if your head is empty?"

Wufei's hand shot up and grabbed the boy's fingers before he could blink. "Don't do that," he said, scowling, and went back to eating and thinking of escuses to use, each one getting abandoned in a giant wastebasket in his mind.

"And we can make things fly and put charms on everything," Dillan, a Hufflepuff boy, was explaining. "And we can make potions that can do almost anything. Trust me, you'll love becoming a wizard. My parents were muggle. I didn't even know about magic until I got my Hogwart's letter five years ago."

"I'm a little nervous about all this," Quatre admitted. "Mr. Ollivander, the wand man, said I was an inner wand wizard. He said it's as if I have a wand in my hand, so I don't need a physical one."

"An inner wand...holy...," Dillan exclaimed. "This must be pure coincidence. I'm probably the only one in the whole school who knows all there is to know about inner wand. See, when I first became a wizard, I researched my family tree, and learned I wasn't the first wizard in the family. The magic had just died off for a bit, leaving us as muggles, then came back in me. And I learned my great times fourteen grandfather was the only living inner wand, so I looked all I could about that up. It was really interesting."

"Do you know how it works?" Quatre asked.

"Oh yeah," Dillan replied. "The inner wand is an incredible boost. You don't have to learn the words to spells or learn how to move your wand or anything. You simply think of what you want to be done, but you have to think of doing it with your magic, and you hold out your hand, and it is done! It's the easiest, and most powerful, wizard way there ever was and is! I'm lucky my ancestor was a pure hearted Hufflepuff, or he might have been a worse Lord Voldemort."

"I just think of doing it with my magic?" Quatre asked for assurance. "I'm still kind of new to the idea of real magic even existing. In my time, we have to rely on our instincts and skills to survive."

"Try it," Dillan urged. "You know magic exists. You know those magicians that perform tricks on TV and stuff and no one knows their secrets? Well, those are wizards. Most of them were muggle born, and liked the muggle world better. I always wish they had a telephone at Hogwart's. My owl died in a lightning storm last year and it's impossible to get messages unless I borrow a friend's owls. Mum and dad have to rent one. It's very hard for muggle parents to get hold of a magic business, like Rent-An-Owl."

"I can understand that."

"Not everything can be done with an inner hand. At times, there are situations only pure cunning and skill can survive. I know because my ancestor was once kidnapped and put into a completely metal room, and he couldn't get out or anything. It seems being enclosed with a certain type of metal disarms the inner wand so its very weak. Either that, or they drugged him with some sort of potion. But he survived and was rescued and had my great times thirteen grandmother."

"Just think it?" Quatre said hesitantly.

"Just think it," Dillan assured him. "But I suggest you wait, since we're eating breakfast under the watch of many teachers, and something could go wrong."

"Wrong?"

"Nothing major. But you might miscalculate your thought, or aim wrong, or...just little things. Inner wand is easy to do, but you still have to get the hang of it," Dillan replied. "Anyways, I'm hungry. Oh, drink your milk quickly. The Fat Friar tends to float through the table when he comes in in the morning, and he'll freeze your milk."

"Fat Friar...float...what are you talking about?" Quatre asked curiously, thoroughly confused.

"The Fat Friar is the ghost of Hufflepuff," Dillan grinned. "They're awesome, the ghosts. You'll love them."

"Ghost!"

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DUN DUN SUSPENSE! Oh well, it's easy to solve. Simply move on to the next chapter...


	6. Chapter 6

I dedicate this chapter to my love of combining Quatre with ghosts and spirits. It's just a good story tool!

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"Ghost!" Quatre said with alarm, then his throat tightened as he gasped and an incredibly cold feeling came over his entire being. He shivered, then looked in awe and fright at dozens of ghosts floating in through the walls and passing through the tables. They were a clear, silvery smoky like color, and definitely see-through, as ghosts should be. One, obviously the Fat Friar, floated towards them and, true to Dillan's word, began floating all along the table, greeting students and being greeted back with smiles and laughs.

To Quatre right now, the room felt as though it had gone down dozens of degrees in temperature. He began to shiver as the ghosts proceeded to their intended destinations, and he felt like he was trapped in a block of ice in the middle of the earth's worst blizzard as the Fat Friar passed by him. Quatre noticed that none of the other students seemed to be affected at all. True, he did see one shiver as a ghost passed right through him, but everyone generally seemed just as warm as they had been before, while he was freezing. His fingers started to feel like they were on fire, which is not a good sign, as did his toes and ears.

And then the whispers began. Each ghost's spirit was reliving their demise, and Quatre heard each one as though he was there, as though he was the one dying. Dying in his mind over and over again. Quatre knew the ghost's didn't know they were hurting him as much as they were, since their spirit's were the ones speaking into Quatre. A ghost's spirit was like a person's soul. Hidden from the owner.

"Hey, Quatre, are you okay?" Dillan asked over the table, having noticed Quatre's skin was pale and his lips were tinted a very light shade of blue and he was shivering. A few other beside Dillan and Quatre noticed as well, and looked in concern at the golden white haired boy.

Quatre didn't hear Dillan. He could hear nothing but the voices, the whispers, the pain, the sorrow, the anger, the darkness. It was overwhelming, more powerful than anything he had ever encountered. He couldn't handle this, he couldn't, not alone. He couldn't handle...Quatre's eyes fluttered and closed, and he drew up all his strength, focused all his perception of the outside world, and screamed. He then proceeded to let go of the table, which he had been gripping to keep from falling, and fell off his seat to the floor. He drew a shuddering breath, using his last remaining strength, and then collapsed inside, the spirits washing over him like a tidal wave, pulling him along with them.

Dillan watched Quatre fall with a look of stunned shock as everyone in the room twisted to look at where the scream had originated. Dillan jumped off the table bench and was about to jump across the table to get to Quatre when someone put a foot on the seat he had just vacated and vaulted over the table in talented flip, landing on the other side by Quatre. Dillan watched the boy called Trowa put a hand under Quatre's head and call his name. Dillan saw Duo jump over his own table a second after Trowa. Dillan moved to join them, concerned about his new friend, when another person jumped over his table, and another once again. Dillan now gaped at Wufei and Heero, also by Quatre, who still lie motionless, lips and eyelids tinted blue.

What was happening to Quatre?

Duo heard Quatre scream and saw Quatre fall and saw Trowa react instantly, vaulting like a madman over the Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff table to get to his koi. Duo reacted a second later, not having the inner connection Trowa and Quatre had, vaulting over his own table and a surprised Malfoy to land beside his motionless best friend.

"Quat? Quatre!" he yelled, then looked up at Trowa. "What's wrong with him?" Heero and Wufeihad joined them.

Trowa closed his eyes for a minute, then winced and jerked for a minute. He opened his eyes, darkened by Quatre's situation. "He's freezing cold inside, and dark. I can't find him. He's been taken into darkness."

"Well, let's get him out of darkness," Duo said, a statement with which Trowa agreed completely.

"Out of the way, coming through, move aside please," a woman, who they knew was the healer at Hogwart's, Madam Pomfrey, was forcing her way through the crowd of stunned students." She rushed over to Quatre, feeling his forehead. "Oh, lord, he's cold as ice!"

"It's the ghosts," Trowa looked at the Headmaster sharply. "They have to leave, now!"

"Ghosts are not powerful enough to freeze anyone, boy..."

"Now, or he will die!" Trowa interrupted Snape, who looked indignant at Trowa's tone.

Headmaster Dumbledore wasted no time. He immediately raised his voice and kindly requested all the ghosts to leave the room. Soon, dozens of ghosts were floating back out through the walls with confused expressions. Trowa then turned back to Quatre and placed a hand on Quatre's left chest, above his heart, and placed his other hand above his own, closing his eyes.

"We need to get him to the medical wing immediately," Madam Pomfrey said, moving to touch Trowa. Heero intervened, taking Madam Pomfrey's wrists in his his hands.

"Just leave Trowa be," Wufei said to everyone. "Don't touch him." And Wufei and Heero stood gaurd around Trowa, Duo holding Quatre's head off the floor. Trowa suddenly stiffened and his jaw tensed. His head drooped for a moment, then he brought it back up.

"C'mon, Tro...," Duo whispered encouragingly. "C'mon..."

Quatre suddenly gasped and began coughing violently, trembling. His eyes opened, darting back and forth between all the people watching him, then automatically made their way to Trowa, who was breathing heavily, having laid down on the floor. He looked at Quatre and gave a shaky yet supportive smile.

"Are you okay, little one?" he said in his calm, collected voice.

"Oh, Trowa, I'm so sorry," Quatre said weakly with a sad expression. "I didn't mean to...I didn't..."

"It wasn't your fault, Q," Duo piped in. "Why do you always blame yourself?"

"I dare say, this has been an interesting adventure," Dumbledore spoke now. "Why don't you five come with me so the others can all get back to the feast. And I doubt if Madam Pomfrey is going to let you get away without her opinion."

Trowa instantly stood up and swooped Quatre into his arms, carrying him out of the room while hundreds of stumped students watched, wondering what had just gone on. Madam Pomfrey began to lead them all to the medical wing to examine Quatre.

"Trowa," Quatre said after a moment. "You don't have to carry me. I can walk, and you're just as exhausted as I am."

"Since when do you object to being carried, Winner?" Wufei said shrewdly.

"Normally, I don't, since being carried is actually really fun," Quatre said. "But Trowa shouldn't be carrying me now, not after what he's been through."

"He's been through you, Quat," Duo mentioned. "I never thought you were that much of a wildcat inside, to tucker poor Trowa out. Oh, by the way, Wufei," Duo proceeded to run at Wufei, hoisting him up into his arms. "Being carried is very fun. You should try it."

"Put me down, you insufferable baka!" Wufei yelled. "Injustice!" He took his fist and promptly leveled it upon Duo's head. Duo stumbled and they fell in a heap, Duo laughing and Wufei cursing. Duo jumped to his feet before Wufei could kill him and ran to Heero, jumping into Heero's arms, who instinctively caught the braided wonder.

"Of course, it's muchmore fun being the carried instead of the carrier," he said nonchalantly, waving a hand. Madam Pomfrey took this time to tell them sternly to stop making fun, while Dumbledore's eyes twinkled in hidden knowledge at the five of them, two of them being carried by two others, one of them fuming. It was quite an odd situation, considering one of them had just almost died. But the danger of that was past, it seemed, since Madam Pomfrey did a number of tests on Quatre and then gave him a clean bill of health. She was completely stunned and confused as to the whole situation, as was Dumbledore somewhat.

"Now that Madam Pomfrey has had her wise say," he turned those half moon spectacles on them. "I ask you to explain what went on in the great hall. You have surely sparked many rumours by your actions."

The five shared a look that had passed between them many times before, and then Quatre took a deep breath. "I'm an empath."

"Ah, I suspected so," Dumbledore smiled.

"But I'm not just a simple empath," Quatre continued. "I'm a highly advanced one, and, as such, I have other abilities normal empaths do not."

"Like?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"As well as feeling the emotions, or souls, of people, I can also feel the spirits of the dead," Quatre said, a bit lower voiced than before. "And spirits of the dead can be very depressing, since they're dead. They almost killed me."

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Yes. This may not be the best spot to end a chapter, but it's all I have! Please don't hate me. Anyways, review, and tell me if I wrote that good enough. I'm going to bed now. It's 2 int he morning, I'm tired. But, of course, I couldn't help but post this chapter. Anyways...


	7. Chapter 7

Here is the seventh chapter! I have no clue if it's short or long, since I don't have word count on my comp. But I know it's good enough for a chapter. So read it and tell me if you like it. I'm basically just getting started with the whole situation at school. I'm gonna be putting stuff other than school, just so you know. KK, anyways, read and review. Hope you like!

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"And spirits of the dead can be very depressing, since they're dead. They almost killed me. They don't mean to be that way, but...they hurt me. Not physically. They hurt me inside. They hurt my soul, I should say. Having that many spirits around me at the same time was crushing me."

"Are you saying you can't be near any ghosts?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"No. I can be near them," Quatre assured her. "I have the ability to block them out somewhat. But in the great hall, there was just too many for me to handle alone."

"Alone?"

"If Trowa or one of the others is near me, I can handle things better than usual," Quatre said. "We have an inner connection."

"So as long as you have someone you share a connection with near you, you can survive the meals unscathed," Dumbledore said, and Quatre nodded. "Very good, then. I do believe you five have to get to classes now."

"But...?" Madam Pomfrey began to protest, obviously wanting to know more. Dumbledore simply held a hand up to silence her.

"I'm sure there is someone from your houses who wll gladly volunteer to show you around the school and to your classes," Dumbledore waved the boys off. They left the medical wing, each as healthy as ever, and Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey talked in private.

"See you later, guys," Duo said, giving Heero a quick kiss on the cheek and waving to the others as he began to walk away, calling over his shoulder. "I got to go find Draco."

"Draco Malfoy?" Heero said in concern.

Duo stopped his proceedings to turn around for a moment. "That's the guy. He seems really annoying and conceited at first, but I think I can clear that little problem up soon. Whenever negative emotions are in play, there's a deeper reason why." And he whirled around and ran off, braid flying wildly behind him.

Once Duo was gone, Wufei paused and let out a small sigh. "Well, I'm off to try and find a mature ravenclaw. I think I was bombarded with all the younger year students this morning." He shuddered and left.

"I have to go back to the great hall," Quatre stated. "I'm sure Dillan will have waited there for me."

"I'll come with you," Trowa offered, but Quatre held up a hand.

"I don't want to go through this again, Trowa," Quatre sighed. "You don't have to follow me around everywhere after an episode. I'm an ex-gundam pilot. I'm stronger than you think. You don't have to baby me."

Trowa rolled his eyes, a very big expression for him, and replied. "I will stop babying you, Quatre R. Winner, when you stop assuming that very thing. The only people Heero and I could think of to give us the tour are in the great hall, so we have to go there. And if you ask, I'm quite happy to simply leave you wherever I find you. I'm very good at ignoring people...and please don't talk to me as though I'm a child myself. Heero blinked and stepped back, not wanting to get inbetween the very wierd arguments these two had. They were never long or big or dangerous, only completely confusing and odd. When Trowa began speaking in long sentences, it meant he was annoyed enough with Quatre to speak.

What Trowa said seemed to slightly abash Quatre, since he began to blush a shade of pink. "I'm sorry for assuming the wrong thing," he said, then his eyes angered somewhat and he frowned at Trowa. "But I never said I wanted you to ignore me. I never want you to leave me. Why would you even say that?" He declared defiantly.

"Very well, then, I won't," Trowa replied, his arms crossed. Quatre glared at Trowa for a bout a split second more, but it was hard to glare at someone who wasn't affected.

Quatre suddenly smiled. "I'm sorry Trowa. I didn't mean at all to snap. I'm sorry for starting this."

Trowa returned Quatre's smile wholeheartedly, a sight which was entrancing to even Heero, and then the emerald eyed boy practically tackled Quatre. He lifted the flailing Quatre into the threw him over his shoulder, where Quatre wriggled to get free, then began laughing helplessly as Trowa began to head for the great hall, Heero following silently behind. The stoic, messy haired pilot never understood how these two's relationship worked. It was so much different than his and Duo's.

They reached the great hall in a few minutes. It was already half empty and still emptying as people finished their breakfast. Trowa set off for the hufflepuff table to deposit Quatre there while Heero went to find one of those three students that had met earlier. Students stared even harder than when Quatre had collapsed at Trowa carrying Quatre like he was a sack down the hufflepuff aisle. He stopped near Quatre's previous seat and locked his one visible eye onto the boy there.

"Are you Dillan?" he asked. The boy nodded, a bit too stunned to speak, and Trowa unceremoniously dropped Quatre on his lap and began to walk back to his own seat. Quatre sat up and glared at Trowa in annoyed mirth.

"You wait, Trowa Barton," he called. "I'll be getting you back for this!"

"I hold it in high anticipation," Trowa replied. He rejoined Heero, who had located the gryffindor trio from earlier.

"Hullo, 'gain," Ron said. "What was up with that?"

"Playful banter," Trowa replied, his eyes sparkling with amusement.

"Rightly wierd playful banter, if you ask me," Ron muttered. "It's not like I go 'round carryin' Harry..."

"No one asked for your opinion, Ron," Hermoine cut him off, then turned to Trowa. "We'll be glad to give you two the tour. Introduce you to everyone and what not."

"Thank you."

"It's no problem," Hermoine said. "Frankly, you five and your inner wands completely fascinate me."

"She said she's never heard of them before, which is practically a first," Harry said.

"Hermoine reads everything!" Ron added.

"We should go now, if we want to get any touring in before class. We have Potions with Snape and Slytherins first," Harry sighed, then looked at Trowa and Heero. "Snape probably hates you already. One, because you're gryffindors, and two, because you popped into his office and threatened his life."

"Are you guys full?" Hermoine asked. The two pilots nodded and then stood to follow them. Hermoine took a moment to explain the factor of house points, then took another moment to shriek as a kitten suddenly pounced upon her foot. Once she saw what it was, she laughed nervously and blushed.

"Hane," Heero said, and the kitten leapt upon Heero's hand, then jumped to his shoulder. Hane sat there, tail twitching as they walked. Hermoine managed tyo show them the library and two other places she loved to go before Ron clearly stated Snape would be happy to roast them alive and make them divulge their greatest secrets using veritaserum if they were at all late.

"Hide the cat!" Harry warned Heero at the door to Snape's potions class. "Snape'll pounce on you for bringin' animals to class. And I, myself, think he loathes anything white and cute and small."

Heero slipped the kitten inside his pocket and lulled it to sleep as he went in and sat down, eyes hard and cold. With all the things the trio had told him, he wasn't sure he'd like this Snape. He hadn't when he'd met him. They found seats near the trio and set their books out. A moment later, Duo came in with Malfoy, eyes dancing with mirth as he chuckled at something just said. He saw Heero and quickly made his way over, Malfoy sneering at the trio as he did and casting a disproving glance at Duo's back which slightly resembled a pout.

"Hey, Hee-chan!" Duo said in greeting. "Hiya, Tro! So who're they?" He asked bluntly, looking at the trio they were sitting with.

"I'm Hermoine Granger, and this is..."

"Can't you just once let me introduce myself, 'Moine?" Ron interrupted. She huffed at him and he turned to Duo. 'I'm Ron Weasley."

"Teacher's Pet and Weasel," Duo said. "So you must be the famous Harry Potter. Draco speaks highly of you. Well, actually, he tends to complain about you guys a lot," he said in a quieter voice. "Probably means he's infatuated with you guys." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and Ron gagged. Their expressions had gone from annoyed for the unwelcome nicknames to pleased Duo was annoyed with Draco to appalled at Duo's conclusion.

"How is Slytherin?" Heero quickly asked. He was still worried about Duo.

"I haven't even had a class yet, 'Ro," Duo said. "Too soon to tell. Anyways, I'm not going to make any accusations until next week. I've learned from past experiences that there's generally a deeper motive to negative emotions."

"What about those soldiers?" Trowa asked.

"Those assholes just liked to beat the shit out of you for fun!" Duo declared angrily, his eyes shading black and glowering for a moment before he grinned. "See ya. I gotta sit with the Dragon, and I ain't talkin' 'Fei this time." And he turned and joined Draco at the Slytherin side.

The door opened and a chill wind hit Heero's back. The heavy door slammed shut and Snape came striding purposely up to the front of the room. Heero noticed everyone had gone quiet the moment he entered, even the Slytherins. So Snape commanded respect. That was all fine and dandy, but to Heero it mattered on how Snape earned this respect.

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Yeah, so here is the seventh chappie all finished. Did ya like it? Huh, huh? Review and tell me. I have maybe half the next chapter ready, but I'm not going to post it until I get some reviews, please. That's how long it'll probably take me to finish the eight chapter. Review! 


	8. Chapter 8

Pictaresque Incantatem

Sutoomu

Well, this is the result of months without an internet connection on my labtop because of technical difficulties. I wrote so much in that time, on all my stories, and I even got two brand new stories. And now, gomen nasai, for takingso damn long to update. I'm sorry! But I hope you enjoy this chapter of PctaresqueIncantatem. I do. It's pretty good. I think. Anyhoo, read and review. I reply all the reviews I get, 'cause reviewers are special!

Enjoy!

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"Due to the irreversible," Snape paused, directly eyeing the three pilots present. "Events of yesterday, we will be continuing yesterday's lesson." He waved his wand and words appeared on the blackboard instantly. "Follow the directions. You have one hour." And he sat down, shuffling some papers.

"Where do I get dread root?" Duo asked. "We're supposed to make potions in here, right? Three counterclockwise stirs with my wand? How the hell am I supposed to do that?"

"Mr. Maxwell," Snape's eyes snapped up from his paper. "I suggest you turn your volume down and consult your potions book. Not to mention there are many more advanced students all about you for reference. As to the wand, borrow someone elses, as it would be quite unwise to touch this potion." His lips curved in a sneer smile and he returned to his papers, Duo blinking after him.

"Right-o, then," Duo smiled and turned to Malfoy. "Where do I get dread root?" Malfoy smirked and handed him a bunch of roots that looked oddly enough like dreadlocks, except they weren't made of hair and they were moving! Duo poked them with his finger and they burst into flames. Dropping them, he stamped them out with his foot, then chuckled and looked at his hand. "Whoops." Malfoy actually chuckled as he handed Duo another handful.

"So what exactly does this stuff do?" Duo asked as he borrowed Crabbe's wand to stir it.

"It's supposed to make the receiver do whatever the giver wants," Malfoy said. "If I gave this to you, Duo, you'd become my slave for at least twelve hours."

"Really?" Duo asked, and his eyes slipped over to look at Heero. He blinked as he found Heero frowing at him from across the room.

"No," Heero stated firmly.

"Aw, c'mon, Hee-chan," Duo went over to him. "Imagine what this stuff could do!" Duo laughed at the thought.

"If you give so much as one drop to anyone," Heero threatened. "I'm not talking to you for a month."

"Like you talk much in the first place," Duo pouted, crossing his arms. Heero glared at him and Duo threw his hands in the air. "Fine, fine. I promise not to touch the stuff."

"Good," Heero's eyes shined in a smile. "Now go tend to your overflowing potion." Duo looked over at his cauldron and 'eep-ed', running back to it. By the time he got it to stop seeping over the edges, it looked like some sort of green tar, instead of the smooth black it should have been. "Oh well," was all Duo said. "It's not like I need to pass." Snape, however, made quite a few bordering-on-degrading comments about Duo's potion and, indirectly, about Duo. Heero was thoroughly glaring at Snape after this while Duo just grinned and laughed it off, making a rather crude comment about Snape having a stick up his ass which lost Slytherin fifteen house points. That, of course, had gotten Duo asking what the hell house points were, then telling the Slytherins they were unlucky to have him in their house once he found out.

"What do we have next, Dragon?" Duo asked Malfoy as they left the dungeon known as Snape's classroom.

"History of Magic with the Hufflepuffs," Draco made a face. "Boring class, boring Hufflepuffs."

"You say History of Magic is boring?" Heero asked, standing beside Duo and recieving a smile from the braided boy.

"Horrifyingly," Draco rolled his eyes. "It's taught by Binns, a ghost. He just died one day and got up as a ghost the next and continued teaching. Binns never notices anything, he's so drab. It's a good class to catch up on sleep though."

"I have the feeling Duo won't be doing that," Trowa said, having joined them. Hermoine, Ron, and Harry were waiting for Heero and Trowa, not willing to go near Malfoy.

Heero gave Duo a piercing look, and decided that he looked a little bit too innocent. Heero reached into his robe and withdrew Hane, still sleeping, his little white foot twitching in a dream. Heero nudged him and Hane blinked open a tiny eye, then meowed happily at the sight of Heero.

"Hane, I have a very serious mission for you," Heero said, ignoring Duo's amused giggle as Hane tilted his head as though listening. "Your mission is to keep an eye on Duo and make sure he doesn't get into big trouble. Will you accept?" Duo laughed out loud this time as Hane lifted a paw as though cleaning himself and then paused with it by his ear like a salute. "Good," Heero finished, and set the small white kitten on top of Duo's head. Hane immediately curled up and began to doze.

"Thanks, Hee-chan," Duo said, looking crosseyed as Hane's tail began twitching in front of his eyes. "Maybe we should take Hane on missions more often."

"Trowa, Heero, we're going to be late for Transfiguration," Hermoine's voice called out.

"Bai, Hee-chan," Duo said, giving Heero a quick kiss. "See you later, koi!" And he grabbed Malfoy's arm and began to drag him off, Hane lifting up his head in annoyance at the sudden movement. Malfoy, stunned by what Duo had just done, allowed himself to be led while he stuttered. Hermoine, Ron, and Harry were in the same state, staring and stuttering as Trowa and Heero turned back to them. Trowa and Heero had passed them and were well ahead before they caught their senses and ran after them.

"Bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed, pointing at Heero. "You're gay!"

"Now what gave you that idea?" Trowa said with amusement.

"You and Duo," Harry said, and he seemed to be thinking.

"Trowa...," Hermoine started. "Are...are you and Quatre together?"

Trowa smiled a real smile and nodded. "Yes."

"And Wufei...?"

"Wufei's straight," Trowa replied, eyes twinkling as they walked.

"'As straight as a ruler', as Duo often says," Heero mentioned. "And Trowa and I aren't gay."

"You're not?" Harry asked, confused.

"No," Heero replied. "We don't like men. We just love Duo and Quatre."

"But that makes you gay...," Ron started.

"Trust me," Heero said sharply. "It doesn't. Besides, love is love." Even Ron could sense the hidden annoyance and anger in Heero's voice.

"Let me try and explain," Trowa said. "We are not gay, as in we do not like men in general. We only love two men, Duo and Quatre, and that's it. We've never felt any inclination of attraction towards any other men before."

"No offense, but that's bloody wierd," Ron said.

"I understand," Hermoine said. "You could be put under bi, you know?"

"I suppose, part way," Trowa aquiesced. "I don't prefer either, though."

"Understandable," Hermoine agreed. "Society can be very prejeduced against anyone different. Racists, homophobics, religious fanatics.The world is falling off the edge of sanity, I swear."

"It will get worse," Heero said grimly.

"I just hope I die before it gets worse than it is," Harry muttered.

"Harry, don't say that," Hermoine turned on him. "You know that You-Know-Who wants you dead. How can you wish that?"

"No offense, 'Moine," Ron said in defense of his best friend. "But I'd probably want to die, too, if You-Know-Who made things worse. That doesn't mean Harry is actually going to die before that."

"May I ask who You-Know-Who is?" Trowa asked.

"You-Know-Who is Lord Voldemort," Harry said, then sighed as Ron flinched. "Everyone is afraid to say his name. Vol-de-mort."

"Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself," Heero stated.

"Isn't he the dark wizard that Harry supposedly defeated fourteen years ago?" Trowa looked to Heero for answer. Heero nodded in confirmation.

"You knew?" Ron asked, and they both nodded. "You knew, yet you don't worship him or whisper about him or anything."

"It's a complete and utter relief, thank you," Harry quickly said as they entered McGonagall's classroom. The five fifteen year olds sat down and the gryffindor trio continued talking as Heero and Trowa got out their books. They were joined by Wufei, since Gryffindors did transfiguration with Ravenclaws, who sat down in a very tense mood and began meditating before anyone could speak to him. A few minutes later, Professor McGonagall came in, quieting the class and starting the lesson.

"Today we shall be doing some review. Miss Granger, please hand everyone a mouse," McGonagall handed Hermoine a box and she obeyed. "I will come to each of you to grade you on your ability to transfigure your mouse into a pocketwatch. Extra points if it tells time. Proceed." And she picked up a clipboard and walked to the first desk.

Trowa and Heero turned confused looks at the mouse as Hermoine set one down on each of their desks. The mice sniffed and moved a bit, but generally stayed put, not running away as any normal mouse would.

"Do you two know how to use your inner wands?" Wufei asked them, holding his mouse up by the tail, where it squeaked and wriggled. Trowa and Heero both shook their heads. "Quatre learned something about it this morning. He explained it to me, and it seems to work. Damn hard to get the hang of, though." And he proceeded to explain to Trowa and Heero.

"That answers quite a few questions," Trowa said. He held out his hand on the desk and the mouse ran onto it, and then up his arm, settling on his shoulder.

"Except what we're supposed to do here," Wufei peered an eye at his still struggling mouse.

"You change your mouse to a stopwatch," Hermoine replied, having heard him from her seat beside Trowa. "Watch." And she tapped her wand on the mouse three times, then spoke. "Revierto." Three pairs of eyes widened as the mouse fluidly changed into a small golden stopwatch, the tail becoming the chain, the limbs becoming small turnable knobs, and the nose becoming the small catch at the top.

"That is not normal!" Heero shouted, standing up abruptly. Heads turned to look at him.

"Mister Yuy," McGonagall said sharply. "Is there a problem?"

"What the hell is up with all of you?" Heero snapped. "You're completely abnormal!"

"Heero, calm down," Trowa set a warning hand on Heero's arm. Heero closed his eyes, breathed, then sat down with his stoic mask back in place. This did not satisfy McGonagall, as she walked over and eyed them sharply.

"What do you mean, we're abnormal?" Ron defended. "You're gay." Heero sent Ron a death glare and the freckled boy shifted back.

"Is there something wrong, Mister Yuy?" McGonagall asked again.

"He's just a little stressed," Wufei said. "As we all are. And I have to agree with him. Seeing a mouse turn into a pocketwatch is abnormal."

"It may be abnormal to you, Mister Chang, but it is required for you to know in order to pass. So, if you would be so kind as to stop playing with your mouse and transfigurate it for me now, and I will grade you."

"I think that's a bit harsh, Professor," Harry defended. "They've never tried before..." McGonagall held up a hand and Harry wisely shut up.

"Proceed, Mister Chang," McGonagall said.

Wufei forced a smile and put his mouse down, then held his hand over it. His brows furrowed in concentration and he bit his lip, then his hand began to glow a faint red. The glow increased until it appeared as transparent flames flickering all around his hand and a few students gasped and began to get worried. Wufei didn't notice this, deep in concentration, and the flames grew even more. McGonagall frowned and reached a hand out to stop Wufei when the mouse suddenly squeaked violently and the creature melded into a blood red stopwatch. Wufei smirked and looked up at McGonagall. "Satisfied, onna?" McGonagall's eyes were wide and Wufei noticed they weren't focused on his stopwatch, instead darting around the room to look at all the desks.

Trowa felt something heavy slide down off his shoulder and down his chest and he caught it, blinking in surprise at it. He held the red stopwatch identical to the one on Wufei's desk up for him to see, and Wufei frowned. Heero picked another identical red stopwatch off his desk and stared at Wufei. All throughout the room students were finding red stopwatches where their mice had been a moment before and, after a bit more investigation, McGonagall was awed to learn they were all ticking and telling the exact time.

"Do I pass?" Wufei asked, and McGonagall nodded mutely, moving past them to refocus her senses.

"That was amazing!" Hermoine said excitedly once she left. "I've never seen someone transfigure that many items at once!"

"And your hand was glowing red flames," Ron added. "Bloody hell, that was awesome! And now we don't have to show McGonagall, since you changed ours for us. Thanks, mate."

"She'll probably make everyone do it tommorrow," Harry dashed Ron's hopes on the rocks. "Except Wufei, of course."

"I refuse to participate in such a pointless task," Heero muttered stubbornly.

"Poor mice," Trowa murmured, the stopwatch spinning below its chain, which was held in his hand.

"And Trowa refuses to torture animals," Heero added more support to his refusal.

Trowa looked at him, then shrugged at the trio. "It is kind of cruel," he said.

"McGonagall changes them all back, you know," Harry mentioned. "And they're fine."

"Unless Filch's cat gets them," Ron added. "Mrs. Norris is horrible. Bloody spy..."

"Due to this strange event," McGonagall interrupted him, talking to the class. "You are hereby dismissed early for today. You may leave." The class made a general whoop and filed out happily, talking to friends about what to do with this extra time.

"Thanks again!" Ron cheered Wufei. "No transfiguration. What should we do with all this blessed time?"

"I'm going to check on Quatre," Trowa mentioned. "Malfoy said that History of Magic was taught by a ghost. And Heero should make sure Duo's not making trouble like he usually does."

"Don't abandon me to the wolves!" Wufei growled, glaring at the group of Ravenclaws, mostly girls, who were huddled a bit down the hall, waiting for him. "Take me with you!"

"Could we come, too?" Ron asked, then explained himself. "I mean, it's generally boring here, unless You-Know-Who's buggin' Harry, but hangin' with you guys is never dull."

"If you want to," Heero said, then thought of something. "We don't know where History of Magic is, anyways."

"We'll be glad to show you the way," Hermoine chirped, and the six youths walked off, avoiding the Ravenclaws to Wufei's utter happiness.

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Well, I hope I wrote that well. It'll probably be a little while before another chapter is posted, but I hope I can write it soon. I'll try my hardest but.../sigh/ my life keeps getting in the way. Ya know, reality sucks, GW world rules. : Review, please! Ask me anything,t ell me anything, 'cause I love reviewers: YAY!

Storm


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